WINTER 2021

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
Jim Truesdell
James Truesdell is President of Brauer Supply Company, a distributor of specialty
fasteners, insulation, air filtration, and air conditioning with headquarters in St. Louis.
Mr. Truesdell is adjunct professor at Saint Louis University and Webster University.
An attorney and frequently published writer, he is the author of “Total Quality
Management: Reports From the Front Lines”.
IN AND OUT OF THE COVID BUBBLE
It seems like there are two worlds when it comes to dealing
with “social distancing” in the age of the Covid pandemic.
The supply chain continues to function. There
are goods on the shelves because the distributors,
salesclerks, retailers, delivery people, warehouse stockers,
and manufacturers are present and on the job. Repair
people still come to homes to fix
refrigerators, washing machines,
air conditioners, and garage door
openers. Nursing home personnel
are still on the job serving their
residents. Utilities still function
and electricity, natural gas, and
water are there at the touch of
a switch. People who work in
industries that provide durable goods and physical services
have little choice but to show up for work wearing masks,
doing the extra cleaning and washing, and trying to maintain
six feet distance from their co-workers and customers.
Industries that deal in intangible goods and services
are usually the ones who are working remotely and selling
and servicing their products and services from their homes.
They are able to operate within a carefully structured
“bubble.” This is no doubt a good thing because it reduces
necessary interaction for us all where it is possible.
Strangely, however, it seems like those who are not “out in
the world” become really afraid of the threat beyond their
front door while those who must be out and about quickly
become comfortable with the situation. They do what they
have to do and accept that reality.
I spend my daytimes in our industrial distribution
industry which has never really shut down. Beyond the
safety regimen practiced in all interactions, people I meet
go forward with their daily tasks in pretty much the same
manner they always have. At night I go teach at the local
CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE
University which is making on-line or in-person classes
available at the option of the instructor. It is a completely
different world. Everyone seems hyper aware of the threat
posed by the virus and many people will not venture onto the
campus. Strict protocols are enforced to prevent spread of
Covid, but that still does not give peace of mind to those who
have been operating from home
since the start of the pandemic.
With these two different worlds,
people have a tendency to judge
people on the other side of the
divide Those out and about are
judged as being irresponsible;
those sheltering in place are seen
as being overly paranoid. Maybe
we should all chill out a bit and tolerate those with different
approaches. The mix seems to be keeping our society and
economy going, for the most part, with goods available and
social interactions kept to a minimum.
One thing that is clear is that people at all levels
are feeling stress and anxiety. When normal routines are
broken and there is uncertainty about peoples’ incomes or
continuity of their employer’s business, people will worry.
Sometimes people who are sitting at home all day have the
time to focus on what is troubling them. Anxiety hits young
adults particularly hard as they are displaced from their
normal college environments or find it extremely difficult
to get a career started in the instant recession brought
about by the pandemic. It is a particularly abrupt shock
because, until February, the country had been experiencing
an unprecedented jobs boom with unemployment rates
at all-time lows. Parents are under stress as they deal
with children at home needing assistance with on-line
education and needing care if those parents must go to
their workplace.
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